全国2008年1月高等教育自学考试
英语写作基础试题
课程代码：00597

Ⅰ.重写句子(30 points, 3 points each)
Revise the following sentences according to the requirement.
Example: The history of English words is the history of our

civilization in many ways.
         ( periodic sentence)
        In many ways, the history of English words is the history of

our civilization.
1. The bridge had been weakened by successive storms,  It was no longer

safe.  (simple
sentence)
2. In the contract, there are too many ifs. (loose sentence)
3. It will save money, if you make your own clothes. (periodic

sentence)
4. To know how to study is important for college students. And to learn

how to arrange time is also important for college students. (parallel

structure)
5. It was a huge rock. It took five people to move it. (complex

sentence)
6. He doesn’t smoke. He does not drink. (compound sentence)
7. We wanted to play a joke on Pauline. We sent her a Valentine’s

card. It said “From your secret lover”. (compound-complex sentence)
8. Go anywhere, and I will follow you. (complex sentence)
9. After her parents died, she was sent to live with her aunt.  (simple

sentence)
10. If we do not hurry, we will be late. (compound sentence)
Ⅱ. 改写病句（15 points, 3 points each）
   Correct the errors in the following sentences.
Example: Made by his mother Tony ate up the cake.
         Tony ate up the cake made by his mother.
11. I never saw so many cheerful, courteous students and helpful.
12. I am very tired this evening, it was a long day at the office.
13. I have followed the instruction faithfully given by the manual.
14. To take this course, the professor must give her approval.
15. A very powerful story that really puts its message across.
Ⅲ. 标出主题句（15 points, 5 points each）
16. Choose the best topic sentence from the group below.
   A. Picasso was thought to be dead at birth in Malaga on. Oct. 25,

1881.
   B. By the age of 25, Picasso was an able and gifted artist.
   C. Picasso’s father was a painter named Jose Ruiz Blasco.
   D. The full sweep of Picasso’s effect on modern art is difficult to

document.
     Answer: ___________
17. Read the following paragraph and underline the topic sentence.
    There is a popular belief that some particular scientific

discoveries or theories, such as the Darwinian theory of evolution,

have led to the downfall of religion. It would be foolish to deny that

these discoveries have had a great effect in undermining religious

dogma. But this account does not at all go to the root of the matter. 

Religion can probably outlive any scientific discoveries which could be

made. It can accommodate itself to them. The root cause of the decay of

faith has not been any particular discovery of science, but rather the

general spirit of science and certain basic assumptions upon which

modern science, from the 17th century onwards, has proceeded.
18. Read the following paragraph carefully and select the best topic

sentence from the four possible answers that follow the paragraph.
    Topic sentence ___________
     At one time, transistor radios were not practical, because they

were too expensive, Now all of that has changed. With the reduced price

of transistors and the cheaper costs of mass production, the transistor

radio is cheaper than the old-style tube model. In addition, transistor

radios do not heat up like the old tube radios, so they will not wear

out as quickly. Also, transistor radios can be made much smaller

because transistors are smaller than tubes. Furthermore, transistor

radios are more reliable. They have fewer parts, so less can go wrong.
A. Transistor radios are practical and inexpensive.
B. Transistor radios have undergone much improvement.
C. Transistor radios are cheaper than tube radios because of mass

production.
D. Transistor radios are better than the old-style tube radios.
Ⅳ. 重新组合段落(10 points, 2 points each)
    Rearrange the following numbered sentences so that they will read

logically, put the number in proper sequence in the boxes provided

below.
19. Those who did not become miners found work in railroad

construction, farming and light industries, doing low-paid jobs.
20.As in California they formed small pockets of Chinese culture that

were known as “Chinatowns”.
21. The government issued Exclusion Acts to stop the immigration of

Chinese laborers into the  United States.
22. The Chinese called the new land “Mountain of Gold”.
23. Many workers fled the concentrated Chinese communities in the West

and scattered to the Mid-west and the East.
24. He was accused of taking jobs away from the white man.
25. By the 1880’s, American industrialization brought changing

economic realities, resulting in an explosion of resentment toward the

Chinese laborer.
26. The first big wave of Chinese immigration to America came when gold

was discovered in California in 1848.

26    24  23 

Ⅴ. 标出与段落内容无关的句子（10 points）
    Read the following paragraph and underline irrelevant sentences

(either one or two).
A diamond’s hardness makes it useful in ways you may not know about.

If you have a record player in your house, it probably has a diamond-

tipped needle. Your dentist uses a diamond tipped drill. Similar drills

are used in industry to cut very hard materials. However, not all

drills are made of diamonds. When a diamond is cut,  the dust is

gathered and saved. Manufacturers then use it in many grinding,

polishing and sawing jobs. Recently, diamonds have been put to new

uses. Eye surgeons use diamond knives for delicate operations. A

spacecraft sent to Venus had a diamond window. A diamond was the only

transparent material that could withstand the extremes of temperature

and pressure on Venus.  Scientists have developed ways to make man-made

diamonds, which, if successful, might greatly reduce the cost of

diamonds.
Ⅵ. 写信（20 points）
Suppose you were Claudia Spangle, a rug saleswoman selling rugs on the

floor in the First Department Store in Shanghai for five years already.

You want to have a change, so when told a rug salesperson to cover

Beijing territory is required, you write a letter of job application.

In your letter, make sure to provide some necessary information like

your qualifications, working experience, the achievement(s) you have

made in the work and your wish as well.( 150-200 words)